So, when people get invited to a wedding, typically they are allowed to bring a date. I mean who wants to go to a wedding and be the only person there without a date right? Well too bad, that's not up to you.
Sure, that may sound harsh, but honestly, now that I've had some time to really sit down and plan out who I want to attend my wedding, it's nothing personal but I had to make some cuts and your plus one didn't make the list. What most people do not realize is that weddings are expensive. You have to pay for every little thing, right down to the little clip holding your napkin down on your plate.
According to the cost of a wedding, the average cost of a wedding with a guest list of 100 people is 25K. (That's if you are frugal with your budget.)
Let me break this down for you, typically speaking, the average wedding has about 50-100 guests, not including the bridal party (if you choose to have one). Now depending on where you are planning on having your wedding, venues charge you per head. Now you include the caterer, they typically charge per plate and depending on what you want your guests to eat that can cost you anywhere from 20-300 dollars. That's not including renting out your plates, forks, knives, spoons, napkins, napkin holders...
Next is seating. Yes, you have to rent the chairs and tables for your wedding ceremony AND reception, because apparently, those are two different kinds of chairs. Table linens are a thing you have to rent per table, which matters because depending on how many guests you have depends on the number of tables or size of tables you'll need.
This list was just barely scraping the surface of all the things an average has for their guests, apparently, there are also wedding favors, and gifts that are tagged on.
Do you see where I'm going here? The reasoning of "oh but it's just one more person," to a person planning their wedding is more like "Oh, but it's just another 200+."
Money aside, because you are definitely NOT paying me to bring your own guest(s), another reason why you can not bring a plus one to my wedding is, well, for the fact that it's my WEDDING.
I put a lot of work into figuring this guest list, and for me personally, I don't see weddings as a popularity contest of how many people I can add to my list; it's more of a how many more people can I realistically take on this list. Right now my list consists of 90 people, that is only including family on both my fiancé's and my side. I cap my list at 100.
Also, when I think of who is going to be attending one of the most special days of my life, my first instinct doesn't go to, "Ah yes, your date who I have probably never met before in my life but should absolutely be there at the most intimate gathering in my life."
In case you are still confused, after reading this let me make it even more simple for you to understand our side of things. It's already hard enough knowing that we are cutting people from the guest list that we have known for years, so if we are not willing to make room for them, why would we make room for your plus one?
